Top of da morning to ya... Dublin here we come!! A stressful day at work had come to an end and the thought of a short flight to Dublin for a long weekend was amazing! Unbeknown to me...the stress was not yet over! As soon as we locked up the flat...Carrie lost the wheel on her suitcase. It hadn't even been 5 minutes and we had a broken case to deal with. At this point Carys had also made me aware that Nina (one if the girls meeting us in Dublin) had missed her ferry!!! Hayley (who was also meeting us in Dublin) was having a bit of a disaster with her flight...well she had taken off believing she was on her way but instead the plane decided to circle in the air above Exeter airport for an hour before landing there again as there was a problem with the plane.

In the meantime the rest of us had arrived at Cardiff airport...it's always great when there are no queues anywhere. To be honest I think it's the only airport where you never have to queue to go through security. Good times. Well after undressing, strolling trough security with no beeps ;) and then piling the layers back on... We were through and straight to the bar we went! About to sit down and relax Becky realises she's lost her phone...she turns straight back to security to ask if she can check the other side of the barriers (which is where she accidentally left it), but no...access denied once you're through, you're through. Lucky for us one of the security guards went back to pick it up for her. Panic over!

Finally we could all take a sip of the cold, fruity cider we had just bought... FOR £5.10!!?!? Yes!!! Bloody ridiculous. No wonder the bar was empty!

We were all eagerly awaiting for the screen to switch to BOARDING! Time ticked on...Finally 'Boarding gate 1'

We started to queue waiting to see if we could be let on, as our hand luggage didn't meet the specifications! Well it was a lot of worry the night before for nothing...we walked straight through...they didn't even bat an eyelid! Didn't even check a thing.

On the rickety plane we get. A plane with propellers this was...quite old and very small. Quite toy like haha. It was freezing out but even colder on the plane...no surprises that I was cold though really. It was inevitable!

Got to my seat and went to hoist my luggage to the over head lockers...now there is a reason there are luggage restrictions...my case didn't even bloody fit up there. It was a tiny space. Trying to fit my case in there was a struggle...and people were starting to stare. Luckily the seats on this plane had quite a bit of legroom and a lot of underseat storage! My case fitted nicely! Phew!

The girls were sat together on the plane I was in the aisle over and had the lovely experience of sitting next to a guy that prayed not only at take off but landing as well...great! I was slightly worried by the fact we were in a small old plane anyway. I didn't need someone next to me, so worried that he felt the need to pray. Well my confidence in the flight dropped slightly after that.

One hour later...'Welcome to Dublin!' That's probably the only thing I understood the pilot say...it's going to be a fun four days! Through arrivals doors...unfortunately no hot Irish lads there to greet us. Damn!

Me and Becky waited for Hayley's flight to arrive while the other girls caught the bus to the hostel. It wasn't a long wait...the screen said plane arrived but we were standing in the wrong bloody terminal. We power walked all the way to the other side of the airport, but no sign of Hayley. We waited at the 'stars in your eyes' like doors and whenever they opened there was a little bit of hope that she would stroll through. While we were waiting a man walks through the doors, with his girlfriend waiting for him the other side.

Instead of moving from the doors the pair decide to full on make out in the area where everyone is looking, because that's where the doors are! Nobody wants to see that people! Make a quick exit...get a room! Crikey!

Bec decides to give Hayley a quick ring and she tells us that she's in arrivals...(she Definately wasn't, that's where we were) and our eyes had been glued to the door area so we wouldn't have missed her. It seems though that Hayley hadn't realise she needed to walk through customs before she came into arrivals haha!

We hopped in a taxi and made our way to the hostel. It would have been a quick journey if we hadn't have been stuck at a red light for literally 20 minutes. Crikey. All checked in now and ready for the day ahead!

Day one of exploring...what a weird night in the dorm though...one of the girls (thankfully not with our group) shot up and shouted shahizen shahizen shahizen (not sure if that's how you spell it.) but basically s*** in German! I honestly didn't know what was happening! When I mentioned to the girls in the morning none of them had heard it. I honestly don't know how but it bloody scared the life out of me haha.

There was a queue for the shower in the morning! Now hostels should take into consideration that one bathroom is not enough between 7 girls! Haha. It was a long wait for some but we were all squeaky clean eventually.

Downstairs or free brekkie before heading out into the Irish city! We took a stroll trough the beautiful grounds of trinity college before joining a free walking tour of the city. After hearing a long story about the history of Ireland (which is very interesting might I add but I won't bore you with it all) we began the 2 hour stroll around the different sights of Dublin. The cathedral, Dublin castle, Trinity College (again), city hall were just some of the amazing sights we saw throughout the day. Spotted a leprechaun in the middle of the street. Well not an actual leprechaun but someone dressed as one(almost the same thing). That'll make do for a quick picture though haha. Although I will be keeping an eye out for the real thing!

At the statue of Molly Malone and had a little sing song in the street. '...And cockles and mussels, alive alive O...' Everyone know the song? Haha.

We got to venture inside of city hall...thank god! Out of the bitter wind and into the warmth :D. Here was where our tour came to an end... But not before we were told a traditional Irish tale by the tour guide. It was a bit farfetched but I was very engrossed by it. I hadn't listened to a story in a while...it was very enjoyable.

Before heading back to the hostel to prepare for our sophisticated evening out...yes a good old fashioned pub crawl, we stopped at an Irish pub for some delicious food and an alcoholic beverage. Singing along to some live music...yes including Irish rover! Loving life right now.

After a short nap we began to prepare for our first night out in the City of Dublin! A few drinking games to warm us all up and then onto the first pub to begin the Viking pub crawl. The first pub was where we'd had food earlier that day. But it was a completely different atmosphere to the day, the place was packed, and drinks had been flowing for a while. It was great!

Although the atmosphere was amazing the drink prices were not... 6euros for a pint??? Even worse, 9 euros for a single vodka! People told me Dublin would be expensive but that's just crazy right? Ah well we were out and ready for a good night ahead!

Bar two was a bit of a mission away. Thank god we were all in flat shoes. Me and heels on a cobble stoned floor would not have ended well. Nina was in heels...but we lost her on a number of occasions! A game was invented that evening! A game we now call 'Where's Nina?' Original I know!

It was cool to see the liveliness on the streets on our short walk and hear all the different Irish music playing! Dublin is a big hit so far! So the competitions began in the 2nd bar with a pint of Carrig beer(which is delicious by the way). Well the aim of the game was to take gulps of your drink guessing when it goes down to a certain mark on the glass. The closest person to the mark would win a Viking Tshirt! Well I certainly didn't win...but I managed to nab the Tshirt. Haha. It came in very handy for hiding the beer belly later in the night

There were about 20 people on the pub crawl with us... All were pretty cool. We got chatting to a group of Americans and Aussies. Cody (one of the American lads was the one who kindly passed the Tshirt on to me.

Next stop...Badbobs temple bar. What a cool place this was. We all gathered upstairs for our free shots and some dancing to the band playing. I got into the Irish spirit and was taught a bit if Irish dancing by the guide that was with us. I looked like an idiot but I didn't care...the drinks were flowing very well at this point haha.

On route to the next place we were given an energy boost...in the form of Pizza. Not just any pizza...the best pizza I have ever tasted! It even beats dominos...and that is very difficult for me to say but it's true. I was like a scrounge when I'd finished my slice, trying to steal a bite from other people's slices. Once you've had it you just want more. But eventually all the pizza was gone and it was onto more alcohol! Wooo!

Doyle's was the next stop, great little place, some good funky tunes playing, we got some small dance offs going with the american lads. All was going well until one of the American girls and another guy from the pub crawl were practically dry humping in the middle of the dancefloor! Now who the bloody hell wants to see that on a night out!? It was not a pretty sight. I was glad to move on to our final stop... 'Lafayette' night club.

Queue jump and in for free, great start! If I'm honest the night gets a tad hazy for me from this point on. I can tell you I know we all danced the night away! The night came to the end and we all decided to make our way back...via a pizza place of course for some early morning munch. Carrie decided to venture off for a kebab at a place called...wait for it...'abrakebabra!' Haha. What a name for a kebab shop.

Morning came, and we were feeling fresh no more! We missed the breakfast for some extra bed time. We did eventually have to rise and shine though there was more exploring to do on day two in Dublin.

The temple bar market was our first stop of the day. Quite a small market but it had the one thing that's great on a hangover...a hog roast! YUM! We did have to wait patiently for them to open the stall...but it was so worth it.

On to the magical world at the leprechaun museum...not the best 10euros we'd spent BUT we did get to have a lot of fun playing on HUGE furniture. We got to experience how it felt to be the size of a leprechaun, which was quite scary at times...getting off the huge high chair was a shaky experience.

A walk to the Jameson factory was next on the to do list to warm ourselves up with some whiskey. It felt like we were walking through a sort of ghetto...run down buildings, graffiti everywhere...very strange graffiti as well ha...but I knew it was a rough area when I had to be buzzed into a shop. I'll just repeat that...yes actually buzzed into a shop. You know it's extreme when that happens ha. It felt like Inglewood all over again.

We had our tickets and the tour was about to begin. It wasn't a long tour but I'm now well informed on how to make whiskey...and it's a bloody long process. If you want some you'll be waiting about 8 years. Haha. A glass of whiskey was waiting for us at the end of the tour...and I'd like to say it went down very well, but it did not...whiskey? Yuck!!

Energy was running low at this point and we needed to recharge. Now what would do the job?...yes! Pizza! From the place we had it before! Top notch pizza! Yuuuum!

Night number two...Copper face jacks. Or as the Irish call it, Coppers or Slapper Face Jacks ha! Carrie's Irish friend came over to the hostel for some pre drinking and then we were taken to our destination for the night. We managed to get free entry...AMAZING thank you Bernie! 10euros saved! Kaching!

It was pretty dead when we arrived and the place was literally FULL of guys. It was a huge sausage Fest haha. Across the room I saw a group of guys pointing...it was only the American lads, Cody, Kevin and their possy. Out of all the places in Dublin they happened to be at the same club...Radom as hell. As the night went on I honestly thought these men had never seen a woman before...they were like vultures!! We all stuck to our group and danced the night away into the early hours of the morning.

A stop off as Maccy D's was a must on the journey home. Becky and Carrie had already gone back to get their abrakbabra. Carys, Becky, Hayley and me decided to happy meal it up! And Nina, yes you've guessed...we'd lost her again haha.

I was livid with McDonalds... The girls all ha happy meals with a medium bottle of water and of course a toy...which is standard with I happy meal I thought! But no I ended up with a kiddy's size bottle and no toy! Instead I was given a bloody pack of raisins! The guy that served me obviously had issues! Well at least the food was good I guess.

Morning 3 and we miss breakfast again. Sundays they have pancakes as well!! Gutted. I shared my mcdonalds story with the girls as I was still bitter about the situation ha, then Carys tells me she threw her toy in the bin. Can you believe it? Haha. Nina got home at about 6.45 am she stayed until close at the club.

After gossiping and chatting about our awesome night out we eventually got ready for day 3 of exploring. The Guinness factory was today's mission. Not that anyone was feeling drinking a pint of Guinness. We stopped off at Ed's diner for a late breakfast which went down very well! We needed lots of energy for the walk to the factory.

On the way to the Guinness factory I got chatting to Carrie about her dog...apparently he understands French! Haha. We should Definately enter him into Britains Got Talent! She has come out with some funny stories over the weekend. But her love for ikea meatballs has to top them all... To go there weekly after work just for the meatballs is funny enough but when she tells us that's where she's taking her date when she gets back that was the best!! Haha. A date to ikea...Brilliant.

After a few stories we had arrived. We stood at the bottom of the 7 floors that made the Guinness factory and it was in the shape of a pint glass. I now know what it feels like to be a small well tiny person stuck in a big glass. We wandered around learning about the history of Guinness and taking pictures. I didn't find it as good as the Jameson's tour to begin with, that was until we got to the floor where you can pour your own pint. Now this was fun!

The lady showed us how it was poured first and then it was our go to stand the opposite side of the bar to where we are usually stood. On everyone's turn it was funny to see that there was nothing but the look of concentration on our faces haha.

The pressure was on to pour a good pint...I didn't realise how fast it would come out of the tap. I did good though...got my certificate so if anyone needs the perfect pint of Guinness poured then come and see me! :P.

While we were all stood behind the bar with our pints and certificates I thought it would be a great moment for a picture... Kindly asked the woman if she could take it for us, honestly the picture would have been better if we took a 'mental picture' (like on F.R.I.E.N.D.S)! The one she took was all sorts of wrong...blurred, out of focus, close up, half peoples heads cut out! Dreadful photographer haha. We took our pints to the top floor where we got to see the views of Dublin. It was a beautiful place to drink your pint... Well that is if you like Guinness and enjoy heights. Unfortunately I'm not a big fan of Guinness and am petrified of heights. So it was not the ideal place for me.

It was getting very difficult to function throughout the day! My body was shutting down slowly and the thought of the walk back was horrible. I powered through though and we chilled out for a couple of hours before going for a meal for our last night in Dublin. It was so good to have a nice cooked meal instead of stodge!

We continued our evening with some drinks and some Irish music to celebrate our last night! Bars were packed...even on a Sunday! The Irish definately know how to party.

The bar we went to must have honestly been about 80% men! Me and Carys got squished between two massive big belly'd men on my way to the toilet! It was gross! I felt like the filling of a sandwich. We chatted to many people! I did feel like a piece of meat though...we had all been groped or stared at in some way! A guy even used Carrie as a pillow. Once again it was like they'd never seen a woman before. Crazy! We lasted until about midnight...then we were all ready for bed. Signs of getting old. 2 nights is a struggle these days but 3? Crikey!

We managed to catch breakfast on our last morning! We all checked out and began our last adventure. Kilmainham prison. Now this was probably the worst place we could have chosen to go on our last day as it seemed nobody local knew where the hell it was, but seemed to give us directions anyway. We managed to get the tram to the correct station but from then on it was a nightmare. We were guided here there and everywhere by people. We had walked for about 40 minutes in a huge circle before actually finding the place. Now I am blaming this on the directions given to us and not our ability to follow directions haha.

Well we finally got there and it was well worth the walk. It was amazing to hear the history that had taken place there. It was so interesting. We walked the hallways, saw the prison cells, the court yard and even where they were shot after being sentenced to death. I definately wouldn't have survived there... the main reason being, it was way to cold just walking round it, but having to sleep there...no thank you!

The walk back to the team took all of 10 minutes...not 40. Me and Carrie were the stragglers behind. We passed a small white dog and as Carrie went down and said 'awww he's so cute...' The dog snapped and barked. Carrie just screamed. Well it gave us the biggest shock. So unexpected for a small dog!

As soon as we made it back it was time to say our goodbyes to Nina. She had booked an earlier return home. So the seven became six. We all went for a lovely lunch before doing some souvenir shopping. The day flew by and before we knew it we were at the bus stop waiting for the bus back to the airport. Of course we had to be approached by a drunken Irish man before we left...asking us if we were a group of lesbians or if we were Norwegian or something like that. When we said no, he looked up to the skies, put his hands together and said 'Thank You', haha. Some strange people around. Luckily our bus came shortly after and we were on our way back to the airport where we had a couple of hours wait for our flight home on the toy plane!

Well that's it from me again for a while. Dublin you have been awesome but you have truly destroyed me...well for a week anyway haha. I'll be back to normal as soon as next weekend arrives. Well...Cheers. Or as the Irish say...Slainte. It's true what they say...the Irish definately know how to have a GREAT time!

Toodles for now.

J.L xxx